FAAN blames reconstruction work for leaky roof at Lagos airport

Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has attributed the leaky roofs currently being experienced by travellers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, to ongoing construction exercise at the popular entry port.

The authority said contrary to claims making the rounds, the leaky roofs in no way suggest a deplorable condition of the facility.

The Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Herrienta Yakubu, said the upgrade was in compliance with the recent Executive Order issued by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

Yakubu, who was reacting to a viral short video of the leaking roofs, said: “it is regrettable that the story, which was capable of creating fear in the minds of intending passengers, was not based on an assessment of the said facility by the reporters.

“This is more so because the reporters could easily have cross-checked their facts with our Corporate Affairs Department before going public with such a sensitive issue.

“Following this malicious video clip targeted to tarnish the authority’s hard earned reputation, management wishes to put the records straight that the leaking roof was as a result of the on-going works at the MMIA, Lagos.

“This upgrade is coming on the heels of the Executive Order issued recently by the Presidency aimed at Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, and the authority is doing everything possible to improve the quality of her services in line with the order,” she said.

According to her, the management in compliance with government policies had since initiated practical steps to improve on safety and security architecture of the nation’s premier airport and also improve comfort and passengers experience.

Yakubu noted that consequently, upgrade of facilities was on-going in different areas at the International Terminal building of the MMIA Lagos with its attendant challenges to FAAN operations.

“Sequel to this on-going works, we recently experienced some leakages from the roof at the ‘D Wing’ of the Terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, owing to a heavy rain accompanied by a wind storm.”

“This is directly connected to the civil engineering works going on at the roof top at that location, which temporarily interrupted our engineers who are replacing the old roof members with new ones at that instance.

“It was practically impossible to work at that location due to its altitude and slipperiness while the rains lasted, but work immediately resumed after the rain subsided, and the integrity of roof was restored.

“We want to state clearly that this defect did not affect operations in any way or at any time at the terminal,” she said.
Yakubu reassured passengers, airport users and the general public of FAAN’s commitment to a safe, secured and improved facilitation at the nation’s airports.‎